Three Lakes Marathon

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 745m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 27% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 534m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 27.5km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 36.8km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.8km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.8km–20.0km · Descent of 300m averaging 13%, climb of 527m. Plus 2 more climbs and 1 descent. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them.
• Work · 20.0km–32.3km · Descent of 745m averaging 10%, high point 931m. Plus 1 more climb and 1 descent. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them.
• Fade · 32.3km–36.8km · Climb of 578m. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 36.8km–42.5km · Descent of 534m averaging 9%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 2492m+. With 58m/km of climbing, this is a true mountain course with sustained climbs and descents. By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 44% downhill and 18% flat. The longest climb runs 8.7km at an average 6.0% grade (527m of vertical). The longest descent runs 7.5km at an average 10.0% grade (745m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 30.9% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 27.3% over 0.5km. Surface: 66% trail, 14% technical, 14% road, and 6% smooth. Flat-equivalent effort: 59.8 FlatKM.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 8.1km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is moderate (index 34 of 100), with 30% of the load in the first half: 2 descents deserve a plan and a couple of downhill sessions before race day.

• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 27.5km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 36.8km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• #2 · 6.2–8.6 km · 300 m D−, -12.6% · 34.0 km ahead → control
• #1 · 20.0–27.5 km · 745 m D−, -10.0% · 15.0 km ahead → control
• 36.8–42.5 km · 534 m D−, -9.3% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end

Weather

On race day, start temperatures have historically ranged from 7°C to 18°C, with around 13°C at the highest point; the chance of precipitation is about 36%. Heavy rain of 10.0mm or more falls on about 6% of days around this date.

Results

293 finishers completed the 2026 edition. Men's winner: OLLÉ Marc BERNADES (Spain) in 3:48:46. Women's winner: Sylwia Byrska (Poland) in 4:45:59.